After last week’s successful debut of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series, the show returned live on UFC Fight Pass as another ten fighters were given the chance to earn a UFC contract. Although there were impressive performances on show from Daniel Spohn and Thanh Le, only Sean O’Malley was offered a contract on the back of an exciting knockout finish.
In the featured bout, Daniel Spohn turned a fight on its head when he finished Angel Deanda in the very first round. After a good start, Deanda rocked Spohn but landed illegal blows to the back of his head.
After the time out and point deduction, Spohn came out firing and landed numerous blistering punches to the face of Deanda. Spohn rocked his opponent then finished the fight by sinking in the arm triangle submission. Despite the impressive turn-around, Spohn was not awarded a contract.
Following fireworks in previous fights, 22-year-old Sean O’Malley had his work cut out for him to live up to previous performances and impress Dana White as much as he wished to. However, this was no problem for “Sugar” on his way to earning a contract in emphatic style.
Despite looking vulnerable early in the fight, O’Malley found his range well and landed numerous single shots to the bloodied face of Alfred Khashakyan. After a straight punch, head kick and flying knee, some seconds later, O’Malley landed a straight right that sent Khashakyan crashing to the floor and ended the fight in spectacular fashion.
Congrats to @sugaseanmma on his impressive KO win… and UFC contract! Welcome to the Big League! #ContenderSeries pic.twitter.com/TvDYJPB9YJ
— UFC Fight Pass (@UFCFightPass) July 19, 2017
Thanh Le entered the fight as a 2/1 underdog when he faced Lazar Stojadinovic. This represented another opportunity for the former TUF competitor to enter the UFC and he took this opportunity in the best way possible.
From the off, Le was landing the eye-catching shots, landing numerous kicks to Stojadinovic. After a fairly even opening round, Le landed a miraculous head kick and followed it up with punches to the head for the stoppage. Despite the flawless finish, Le unexpectedly did not get the nod, much to the bemusement and shock of many fans. Le had been adamant of his signing post-fight and will no doubt have been left bitterly disappointed by the UFC President’s decision.
After an impressive win, @ThanhLeMMA has a message for @danawhite! #ContenderSeries pic.twitter.com/J2EpoUqRtq
— UFC Fight Pass (@UFCFightPass) July 19, 2017
Also on the show, Casey Kenney looked impressive against the experienced C.J. Hamilton, combining clean striking with good wrestling to secure a unanimous decision victory as he took the fight on all three judges’ scorecards.
Finally, Sidney Outlaw earned a comfortable unanimous decision after controlling Michael Cora on the floor and coming close to finishing the fight on numerous occasions with rear-naked choke attempts. However, this was not enough to earn him a UFC contract.
